


Map of the Heart

by CobaltStargazer



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Fetish, Not Entirely Cracky, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-17
Updated: 2015-01-17
Packaged: 2018-03-07 22:38:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3185852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CobaltStargazer/pseuds/CobaltStargazer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Map of the Heart

**Author's Note:**

> This happened because of an inadvertent request, and I decided to try and make it so. This is not to be confused with my other stories about the pairing. Maybe.

Spencer had been out of town on a case for a week, and the apartment was quiet when he unlocked the door. It was past two in the morning, and there was only one light on. He dropped his satchel on the couch, took his jacket off and threw it on top of his bag. He yawned jaw-crackingly wide, started towards the kitchen.

"Elle?"

"In here."

The voice came from the bedroom, and the profiler finished his trek into the kitchen, where he poured some ice water from the pitcher in the refrigerator. Cubes rattled against the inside of the glass as he drank some of the cold contents. Summer had come to Virginia, and the night beyond the apartment was like a wet blanket. "I hope you weren't waiting up for me," he said as he carried the glass out of the room. Condensation ran down the smooth sides, dampening his fingers.

"I wanted to finish this book," Elle replied, keeping her eyes on what she was reading, a mystery novel by one of her favorite authors. She was almost to the last page when she heard the door unlock, and when Spencer came to stand in the doorway, she looked up at him, marking her place with her thumb. He put the glass down on the dresser, started to loosen his tie, then unbutton his shirt. She made a soft noise of appreciation when he bared his upper half, then dog-eared the page and closed the book before setting it aside. 

"i wish you wouldn't do that," he said pedantically, and she tossed the sheet aside to make her way past him. "I got it in the bargain bin," she answered before kissing him on the cheek, and he kissed her on the mouth before she could completely slip past him. She was dressed for bed, wearing a black tank top and cotton boyshorts. Spencer admired her from behind before she disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. He unbuckled his belt, the shirt hanging open. He was wondering whether or not he should shave tonight or tomorrow when his hands went still. A frown creased his brow as he looked at the closed bathroom door, and he took two steps in that direction.

"Elle?"

"Yeah?"

The former profiler's voice was muffled by her toothbrush, and when the door opened behind her she met Spencer's eyes in the mirror. He was no longer frowning. Instead, he looked almost anxious. The eye contact held while Elle finished tending to her ablutions at the sink. The tap came on, and she rinsed her mouth out. She heard Spencer step into the smaller room with her, and one finger plucked at the right strap of her tank top. 

"Is that..."

"Do you like it?"

She'd worried about it initially, that he wouldn't. Getting inked was a fairly big deal, and she'd gotten it done on the spur of the moment. Spencer's finger slipped more fully under the strap of her tank, pulled the cloth aside. Elle held her breath.

The tattoos were smallish, and she felt warm breath on her right shoulder blade as he leaned closer. She had her lower lip between her teeth. The tip of his index finger alighted on the point of her shoulder.

"Is it healed? Can I touch it?" If he sounded anxious, it was because he was. Elle nodded silently. She'd pinned her hair up because the weather was so warm, and when his fingertip moved, she let out a slow breath.

He started on the miniature map of New Mexico, wondering how long it had taken the tattooist to complete it. The more intricate the work, the more time it required. He could feel the raised ink, and although the letters were very small, he could read [i]Taos[/i] where it sat in its designated spot. Elle's back was warm underneath Spencer's touch. His other hand moved, tugged aside the opposite strap. He wanted to see both of them at once.

Virginia was a different shape, elongated instead of square, and Spencer traced it with a feathery touch. He was envisioning roads, highways and streets and avenues, all marked with names and signs. The desert of New Mexico, desolate but beautiful, like a moonscape with cacti. The long road in between.

"Do you like it, Spencer?" The brunette's voice was a little hoarse, a little quavery. Inside her lightweight tank, her nipples had hardened.

Instead of answering, he leaned down, and his mouth brushed the tattoo on Elle's left shoulder. A barely-there kiss, but his lips were warm, and his breath made gooseflesh prickle her skin. His eyes were closed. So he could savor it. She felt his mouth through her shirt as it moved, and then it puckered against her right shoulder. Her hands were gripping the edge of the counter, and they gripped tighter when the tip of his tongue flicked over the image of Virginia permanently inked into her flesh. It was the single most erotic thing that had ever happened to her.

"Did it hurt?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it did. I don't have a lot of padding back there. That would have made it easier."

"Mmm."

Spencer retreated a half-step. He was still holding Elle's shirt, one hand bunching the material so he could see both tattoos. He was flattered and touched and turned on that she'd done it, and the buckle of his unfastened belt made a muted noise as he shifted forward again.. When his tongue brushed the small tattoo of New Mexico, she squeaked, then let out a stifled moan when his free hand slipped into her shorts.

" _Reid_..."

"I love it." Spencer's voice was a raspy whisper, and he wanted to see her back muscles working beneath the designs, if they'd shift and change. "I love it. You don't know how much."

He retreated again, and her fingers slowly released their hold. The bathroom had become entirely too warm. "Bed?"

"Bed."

Elle stripped off the tank top before heading back into the bedroom, dropping it on the floor in a puddle of black cloth, and Spencer's eyes traced over what he'd already come to think of as their love map as he followed after her. He wanted to touch it again, kiss it again, lick it again. And he fully intended to.


End file.
